Phenotypic plasticity comprises a central concept in the understanding of how organisms interact with their environment, and thus, is a central topic in ecology and evolution. A particular case of phenotypic plasticity is phenotypic flexibility, which refers to reversible change in organism traits due to changes in internal or external environmental conditions. Flexibility of digestive features has been analyzed for more than a century in a myriad of different species and contexts. Studies in rodents on gut size flexibility have been developed mainly from two different áreas of the biological sciences, physiology and ecology. However, as for several other topics related with physiological ecology, both kinds of studies largely developed along sepárate paths. Herein, I evaluate altogether the information belonging to both áreas. The major conclusions reached are: (1) there is a clear match between digestive morphology adjustments and change in environmental conditions, and gut size flexibility could be considered a widespread physiological mechanism oceurring in laboratory and wild species, and under laboratory, semi-natural and natural conditions. (2) For laboratory species, the experimental factors that have been more investigated are diet quality, reproductive status, environmental temperature and fasting, while for wild species the more analyzed factors are diet quality and temperature. (3) For wild rodent species, no differences in small intestine length flexibility between methodological approaches ñor species feeding categories has been identified. (4) It appears that high energetic demands are mainly coped with by changes at the small intestine level, while changes in the amount of undigestible material in the diet are mainly coped with by changes in the hindgut. (5) Change in gut length may be related to a decrease in food retention time (e.g., during diet dilution), while change in gut mass appears to be related to a need of higher specific absorption (e.g., during highly demanding periods). (6) The qualities of an energetic demand (e.g., its relative intensity) rather than simply its presence or absence can affect the amount of digestive flexibility. (7) Quantitative comparisons of the existing data are difficult due to several factors, such as the disparity of experimental treatments and differences in the types of data collected. At the end of this review, further directions for the study of digestive flexibility in rodents are presented.

La plasticidad fenotípica constituye un concepto medular en el entendimiento de cómo los organismos interactúan con su ambiente y, por tanto, un tema central en ecología y evolución. Un caso particular de la plasticidad fenotípica es la flexibilidad fenotípica, la cual refiere a los cambios reversibles en un organismo producto de cambios en las condiciones ambientales. La flexibilidad en los rasgos digestivos ha sido estudiada por más de un siglo en diversas especies y contextos. Para el caso de los roedores, los estudios sobre la flexibilidad en el tamaño del tracto digestivo han sido desarrollados principalmente desde dos áreas de la biología, la fisiología y la ecología. Sin embargo, como ha ocurrido con muchos tópicos relacionados con la fisiología ecológica, ambos tipos de estudios se desarrollaron por vías separadas. En este trabajo se intenta evaluar de forma conjunta la información proveniente de ambas áreas. Las principales conclusiones alcanzadas son: (1) la flexibilidad en el tamaño del tracto digestivo puede ser considerada un mecanismo fisiológico ampliamente distribuido, existiendo un clara congruencia entre los ajustes en la morfología digestiva y los cambios en las condiciones ambientales. (2) Los factores experimentales más investigados han sido la calidad de la dieta, el estatus reproductivo, la temperatura ambiental y el ayuno para las especies de laboratorio y la calidad de la dieta y la temperatura para las especies salvajes. (3) En especies salvajes no se han encontrado diferencias en la flexibilidad del largo intestinal entre estudios con distintas aproximaciones metodológicas ni entre especies con distintos hábitos tróficos. (4) Los cambios en la demanda energética parecen ser principalmente afrontados mediante ajustes en el intestino delgado, mientras que los cambios en la cantidad de material indigestible en la dieta parecen ser principalmente afrontados mediante ajustes en el ciego e intestino grueso. (5) Los cambios en el largo del tracto digestivo parecen estar relacionados con la necesidad de ajustar el tiempo de retención del alimento (e.g., durante la dilución de la dieta), mientras que cambios en la masa del tracto parecen estar relacionados con la necesidad de modificar la tasa de absorción específica (e.g., durante un periodo de alta demanda energética). (6) Las características de una demanda energética (e.g., su intensidad relativa), más que su simple presencia o ausencia, pueden afectar la magnitud de los ajustes en las dimensiones del tracto digestivo. (7) A pesar de la gran cantidad de trabajos publicados, comparaciones cuantitativas de los datos existentes son difíciles de realizar, debido a factores tales como la disparidad en los tratamientos experimentales y en el tipo de información reportada. Para finalizar esta revisión se presentan nuevas direcciones en cuanto al estudio de la flexibilidad digestiva en roedores.

A new species of bufonid toad of the genus Melanophryniscus from northern Uruguay is described. It is included in the M. moreirae group and its external morphology is similar to Melanophryniscus sanmartini. Melanophryniscus sp. nov. is distinguished by having a light brown dorsal coloration with six darker longitudinal glandular ridges on the dorsal surface of the body and the gular region uniformly black.

Se describe una nueva especie de anuro bufónido del género Melanophryniscus, procedente del norte de Uruguay. La nueva especie se incluye en el grupo M. moreirae y es similar, en cuanto a su morfología externa, con Melanophryniscus sanmartini. Melanophryniscus sp. nov. se distingue por presentar una coloración dorsal castaño clara con seis cordones glandulares longitudinales más oscuros en la superficie dorsal del cuerpo y la región gular de color negro uniforme.

We analyzed the histology of skin from the head region of six species of Melanophryniscus, belonging to the stelzneri (4) and tumifrons (2) groups, to understand the frontal tumefaction structure and function. The histological features of the skin in the stelzneri group are in agreement with the current description for the genus Melanophryniscus. However, the features of the skin on the anterior head region of M. tumifrons shows several changes associated with the frontal tumefaction. This structure consists of a macrogland of similar organization to that of other dermic glands (e.g., parotoid, paracnemid) of amphibians. We propose the name frontal macrogland for this structure. Our results suggest a possible defense role for this macrogland

Se analizó la histología tegumentaria de la región cefálica en seis especies del género Melanophryniscus, pertenecientes a los grupos stelzneri (4) y tumifrons (2), con el objetivo de esclarecer la estructura de la tumefacción frontal y su posible función. Las características generales de la histología del grupo stelzneri, coincidieron con las descripciones tegumentarias existentes para el género. Sin embargo, la región cefálica frontal en las dos especies del grupo tumifrons muestran cambios histológicos correlacionados a la tumefacción frontal. Esta estructura presenta una organización similar a otras macroglándulas presentes en la dermis de anuros (e.g., parotoides, paracnémicas), y por tanto se propone el nombre de macroglándula frontal para la misma. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren un rol defensivo para esta macroglándula

The diet of Leptodactylus ocellatus (L., 1758) was studied in specimens collected at Maldonado Department (Uruguay), where monthly surveys were made between August 1998 and March 2000. A total of 143 frogs were collected, measured, sexed, and dissected, to assess stomach contents. The anurans were grouped into three age classes and four categories (considering sex and capture date). The trophic amplitude for each age class and sex-season category was quantified using Shannon-Weaver Index, and the trophic niche overlap between ages and categories by using the Pianka Index. Comparisons among treatments were made by G-tests. The most important prey items were coleopterans (IRI = 2547), and significant correlations were found between predator and prey sizes. The major differences on diet composition were found between extreme age classes (froglets and adults). Significant differences were also detected between sexes in the cold season but not in the warm season. Any of these changes in diet may be related with the availability of prey.

Studies of phenotypic flexibility are central to the understanding of evolutionary and comparative physiology. Research conducted on many vertebrate species has shown that the digestive system is highly responsive and sensitive to environmental cues. However, amphibians, which are a standard and classic model organism for the study of many physiological processes, have been poorly considered in the study of ecological consequences on digestive flexibility. Here we review and analyze the current information on this topic for amphibians. We identify three major bodies of empirical evidence: a) seasonal changes in gut development, b) lack of dietary modulation of gut attributes in adult individuals, c) a relationship between feeding habits and the magnitude of digestive performance regulation. Once the natural history characteristics of the species under study are taken into account, all the evidence is in full agreement with the predictions of digestive theory. We propose that evolutionary and comparative physiology could benefit greatly from the study of phenotypic flexibility in amphibians